Keys, phone, wallet, SUBE: these are the things no savvy Argentine leaves home without.

The SUBE card is a contactless public transport payment card used in around 60 Argentine cities, including Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and Bariloche. You can use it on buses, subway, trains, trolleybuses, and even boats. 

Implemented 15 years ago, it quickly became an essential for getting around any major city. But how do you top your SUBE up? What happens if you run out of SUBE credit? The answers are in our step-by-step guide.

How to buy a SUBE card

You can buy SUBE cards at most train and subway stations, lottery shops, and Correo Argentino post offices. At the time of writing, they cost AR$880 (US$0.89 at the official rate, US$0.69 at the MEP rate). 

They’re also for sale online, through SUBE’s official form — shipping costs AR$4,300. You’ll need to show ID and proof of payment to pick it up. Delivery takes between four and 10 business days. 

Registering your SUBE

The next step is to register your SUBE. You’ll pay higher fares if you don’t! This lets you transfer credit onto a new SUBE if yours is lost or stolen, as well as viewing your journey history.

You can register your SUBE online on the government’s page, in person at these offices, or by phone (0-800-777-7823, option 3, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Cards can also be registered through the SUBE app, but it only works on phones with Android 6 or higher. The app does not work on iOS.

How to top up your SUBE card

This is when it gets tricky. You can top up at SUBE points around the city, but make sure you bring cash. A cut above the SUBE points are the attention centers (read: the same places you can buy a SUBE) around Greater Buenos Aires. These take debit and credit cards. 

Until recently, kiosks near bus stops had yellow touch-screen machines where you could top up your card, but these are increasingly rare. Nowadays, many kiosks have hand-written signs saying “No cargo SUBE” (“I don’t top up SUBEs”).

You can also top up your SUBE online, but there’s a catch: you then need to validate the payment. One method is to swipe your SUBE card through an automatic terminal, which can be found on some Metrobus platforms. Another is to validate the payment on board the bus. To do this, tell the driver “Quiero acreditar una carga” (I want to validate a top-up) and touch the card on the payment terminal. This only works in certain districts where Carga a Bordo (Onboard Top-ups) is available. 

You may also be interested in: SUBE updates: credit validation now available on buses

In theory, if your phone is compatible with the SUBE app and has NFC, you can also validate the top-up through the app. But in practice, the SUBE app is plagued with problems. Many Google reviews mention problems trying to validate payments, ranging from extremely long waits (sometimes measured in days) to dead-end malfunctions. 

SUBE credit doesn’t expire. However, the card does have a maximum capacity of AR$9,900. So, if you top up more than that, the surplus balance will be credited to your card gradually, as the balance is consumed. 

SUBE top-up machines are more likely to be broken than a sociology student’s phone screen. If you get stranded in the subway with no credit, no working machine and no open ticket booths, the guard may let you ride for free. If you’re trying to take a bus, a kind stranger may tap you in if you give them the fare in cash.

Using your SUBE

SUBE cards work like any other contactless payment card — just place it on the reader to pay for the ride. If you’re taking a local train, the system charges you the maximum fare by default, then refunds the difference when you tap out, so don’t forget to look for the reader at the other end.

The good news is that if you have to take two or more buses, subways etc to reach your destination, the second fare is 50% cheaper. You can change up to five times within two hours. This doesn’t apply if you take the same bus line, or if you pay for someone else’s fare.

The bad news is that when you run out of credit, you can rack up a negative balance of just AR$480. Before recent fare hikes, this was typically enough to get you home. Now, it’s barely enough for one bus ride — and less than a subway ride. The minimum bus fare is currently AR$371 (for rides of up to three kilometers), the subway fare is AR$650 (for up to 20 rides a month), and the minimum train fare is AR$200.

Student SUBE

In Buenos Aires City, students can ride for free with a SUBE Estudiantil (Student SUBE), which gives them 50 free rides per month and a maximum of four rides per day. Buenos Aires City students and pupils in preschool, elementary and high school from public or 100% subsidized private schools are eligible for the discount, as are special education schools and professional training centers. The SUBE Estudiantil can be acquired from the city government website.

In early August, the government formalized plans to let public transport passengers pay by credit and debit card, which could render the SUBE obsolete for many people. However, the planned roll-out is still months away. Until then, you have this guide to help you.